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State Of The Union (Scot Harvath #3)
by
Brad Thor (Goodreads Author)
America's worst nightmare has just become a brutal reality. The most unlikely terrorist enemy of all now holds a knife against the country's throat. With both diplomatic and conventional military options swept from the table, the president of the United States calls upon America's only hope, Navy SEAL turned Secret Service agent Scot Harvath.
With the fragile peace between
...moreMass Market Paperback, 532 pages
Published
May 24th 2005
by Simon & Schuster Ltd
(first published 2004)
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I'm new to reading Brad Thor but like his style very much. Russia vs the United States, the Cold War is over or so we thought. The President of the US has eight days until the State of the Union speech is broadcast and the contents of the speech are being dictated by the Russians who would like nothing more than to see the US lose all its power. The main character, Scot Horvath, is called upon to disable the conspiracy. Plans of action are made but changes are necessary at every turn. As ea...more
Scot Harvath returns when an unlikely threat is blackmailing the US of A. On top of the horrific threat, the only father figure Scot has left has gone off the grid. The president asks the former Navy SEAL to disable the brilliantly orchestrated conspiracy to an end and bring back Gary Lawlor the former deputy director of the FBI. The problem is every way Harvath turns the Russians are one step ahead of him. With no other defense available to aid his wonderful country, Scot decides to take the bu...more
State of the Union is the 3rd novel in Brad Thor’s Scot Harvath series. If you can’t tell, I’m on a Brad Thor kick… something that seems to happen every time I come across a new author.
In this thriller the United States is essentially being held hostage by the Russians who tricked us into thinking that the Cold War ended in 1989. Of course, who does the President tap to save the day? Scot Harvath!
While some things are a bit annoying, like the mention of his watch o...more
In this thriller the United States is essentially being held hostage by the Russians who tricked us into thinking that the Cold War ended in 1989. Of course, who does the President tap to save the day? Scot Harvath!
While some things are a bit annoying, like the mention of his watch o...more
WOW! This is a killer book. I love the way that Brad Thor develops the main character Scot Harvath in this action packed thriller. Growing up during the Cold War, I can distinctly remember the threat of the mutual nuclear destruction between Russia and the US so the storyline definitely resonated with me. Brad masterfully keeps you on the edge of your seat with an amazing cast of characters and a plot that will leave your head spinning. He also is very tasteful in the accuracy of weapons no...more
Brad Thor's third "Scot Harvath" novel is a slight departure from his roots as a terror-thriller writer. This book is a homage to the Cold War thrillers made popular by authors like Tom Clancy. Crazy, bitter Russian communists hell-bent on kicking the United States' knees out from under it so Russia can (re)claim her rightful place as a world superpower have secretly placed suitcase nukes across the U.S. Our hero has to fix everything.
This was a little less hoaky than "...more
This was a little less hoaky than "...more
Awful. Tom Clancy Wannabe. If I read another line that says "all of a sudden" I will go nuts! The dialog was supposed to inform those less informed, but instead just bugged me at how unrealistically the characters talked. Here's the template: "I have an idea." End of chapter. "Have you heard of ?" "Do you mean the ? What does that have to do with " "Well here it goes..." This book was a lame attempt at an action plot, similar to Dan Brown's actio...more
Although I didn't hate this book, it could have been a lot more enjoyable to read if Brad Thor would simply hire a decent editor. Dozens of pages of Harvath's self love could have been edited out, both shortening the story, and making it more readable. And if Harvath is Superman, how come he gets captured because of a stupid mistake in every book, sometimes more than once - and why does he always miss the crucial shot, letting a bad guy get away to torment him later?
And how often do we need t...more
And how often do we need t...more
Leave it to the Russians to be the bad guys. They definitely have it out for Americans. Scot Harvath and company (mostly new characters here) have to find Russian terrorist who are threatening the President to say what they want at the State of the Union address. The book is pretty good, but hit a few dull points where I felt like it was dragging. Most of the Russian translation was pretty accurate (if you are looking to learn some strong Russian swear words, then you should read this book). Ove...more
Although agent Scott Harvath is entertaining, there is too much American propaganda thrown into each of Thor's books to make him completely believable. It also seems that in spite of his few romantic interests, nobody is able to hold Harvath to a real relationship since he already has one with the "honor and defense of the US of A."
Overall, entertaining, but not a thriller I could not put down and pick up again after reading a VERY GOOD book
Overall, entertaining, but not a thriller I could not put down and pick up again after reading a VERY GOOD book
Sergei Stavropol is a man on a mission; a long term mission. He is arguably Mother Russia's greatest soldiers and he has seen enough of the decadence caused by the new capitalistic state. His answer is to suck the U.S. of A. into a war. He has several long term moles in the U.S. each of whom is armed with a suitcase nuke. POTUS calls in the only man capable of saving the world; ex-Navy SEAL and Secret Service Agent Scot Harvath. Thank Goodness.
A fun action thriller which I felt was much better than the previous Scot Harvath adventure (Path of The Assassin). The dialog can be a bit cheesy at times and Brad Thor has a tendency to over-explain certain detains, especially equipment - I don't need to know what the official name, acronym and place of origin for a remote bomb detonator in the middle of an action sequence - but the book is pure action espionage escapism.
Brad Thor does not fail to bring a well written thriller that steals many hours from sleeping because the pages just seem to get better. Each of the Thor books are excellent and stand alone for their genre as excellent summer reads.
Only in these past few months have I discovered the Brad Thor collection and I am making up for lost time reading each of his nearly dozen books.
Only in these past few months have I discovered the Brad Thor collection and I am making up for lost time reading each of his nearly dozen books.
Okay, sometimes the dialogue's a little unbelievable, and maybe Scot Harvath, world-class skier turned elite anti-terrorist operative, is just a little too perfect to get next to as a character, and yes, sometimes the set-ups for the action scenes sound like a catalog put out by the guys who manufacture military gear (do we really NEED to know who made the gloves?)
But damn it, once the killin' starts, these books are FUN. Brad Thor writes big mean baddies with huge evil plots and the...more
But damn it, once the killin' starts, these books are FUN. Brad Thor writes big mean baddies with huge evil plots and the...more
The Cold War isn't really over--Russia just wants you to think it is. That's the premise of book number three in the series. Russia rolled over and played dead, planning more of a long con to take over as the main world power.
This was another entertaining novel, full of gunfights and espionage. I was entertained, and that was what I expected out of it.
Rating: R, for language (F-words particularly).
This was another entertaining novel, full of gunfights and espionage. I was entertained, and that was what I expected out of it.
Rating: R, for language (F-words particularly).
This series has the same premise as the Vince Flynn books, but lacks in readability. Thor's writing is elementary in nature and I found myself thinking, "I'm not in 1st grade, why are you writing like I am." I was so annoyed with his style that I stopped reading the series. Scot Harvath also isn't nearlly as BA as Mitch Rapp.
The Cold War has been over for 20 years... Or has it? The President gets a threat message telling him that unless America commits political and economic suicide, Russian operatives will detonate nuclear devices in over 20 cities across the nation - the worst destruction ever to befall a nation. Scot Horvath has only one week to stop this blackmail and save the United States.
This is the first book I've read by Brad Thor and on the basis of this book, I will certainly be reading more of his. This was a great spy-thriller with a good plot and a very good main character - the supporting players are fairly good as well. I got hooked into this book on the first day and read all 530 odd pages in just 3 days - that's how hooked I was.
Another action packed thriller by Brad Thor. This time Scot Harvath is involved in trying to dismantle a Russian threat against the United States. He meets up with a beautiful Russian agent and together they work to save the day. This book was hard to put down. Thank you Dimitri for recommending it.
Third in the Scot Harvath series and the best of the three so far. What if the Russians were only lying low since the end of the Cold War and planning an attack on the USA that would almost destroy the nation. Scot Harvath must save the day before the State of the Union speech. Good book, thanks Bruce for turning me onto Brad Thor.
Great book!
Scot finds himself, one again, in the front line of a mass conspiracy that could devastate the entire United States and is allies.
The author produces a very well written story, with a plausible conspiracy full of action, technical know how, and some laughs along the way.
By the end of the book we feel eager to read yet another new installment of Brad Thor's books.
Scot finds himself, one again, in the front line of a mass conspiracy that could devastate the entire United States and is allies.
The author produces a very well written story, with a plausible conspiracy full of action, technical know how, and some laughs along the way.
By the end of the book we feel eager to read yet another new installment of Brad Thor's books.
I am really liking Brad Thor's books. His story lines are so varied, but all star Scot Harvath. I am now reading #4 in the Scot Harvath series, Blowback. Always full of suspense and very little "downtime" in his books. Great to the last page.
To be fair I would have given this a higher rating but I listened to the abridged version of this book. Because it was abridged, I felt as if I was missing the meat of the story and left scratching my head at certain crucial parts. All-in-all, the story was good, but this would have been a better audio experience if it was unabridged.
Good book, lots of action. The torture scenes were a bit much for me and I had to skim those a bit. Also, a little too much foul launguage. All in all a good book and interesting take on how the United States may or may not fall.
The language was stronger than I liked... but it was a really fun thriller! I really like Brad Thor as an author. I'm sure his books will soon be made into movies. They remind me of the Bourne series!
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Great travel or beach read. As others have pointed out, this is a pretty "no-calorie, high fun" book. Lots of well-paced action, although some plot points will have you going "well that's pretty convenient."
Started out pretty good, but by the end I just wanted it to be over. One implausible get away after another. Some of it was just plain ridiculous.
Another quality Brad Thor novel. As usual, Scot Harvath is a beast. And now I'm gonna be paranoid about russian sleeper cells and suitcase nukes in America...
I stumbled across this book at Barnes and Noble and the book was a real page turner. I will most likely read Brad Thor's entire line of books this summer.
Each of these Scott Harvath books is better than the last. State of the Union has been my favorite yet. Harvath's character is given more depth, and the action is basically nonstop from start to finish.
Very exciting and suspenseful, but not especially memorable. This is my first foray into the works of Brad Thor. He's worth another chance!
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Brad Thor, a graduate of the University of Southern California and former member of the Department of Homeland Security's Analytic Red Cell Program, is the New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Lucerne, Path of the Assassin, State of the Union, Blowback, and Takedown. He and his wife -- a physician to the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago White Sox -- divide their time with their two child...more
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